DOHA (Qatar): Austria’s Max Kuhner claimed the season-opening CSI5* 1.45m class on the opening day in the first leg of Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) at Longines Arena Al Shaqab on Thursday.
Kuhner rode 11-year-old Vancouver Dreams to the top spot leaving all his competitors behind to finish his round in 25.15 seconds in the show jumping premier competition in which 48 top riders are taking part including Olympians and past champions of LGCT.
Marcus Ehning of Germany rode his luck to finish second with a time of 25.36 seconds. Maurice Tebbel of Germany atop Chacco’s Son completed the top three finishing with a time of 25.47 seconds.
The thrilling action in the individual and GCL team Championships continues for the next two days at the vast Longines Arena at Al Shaqab, a member of the Qatar Foundation.
Some of the international riders at the CSI5* event are Pieter Devos (Belgium), Maikel van der Vleuten (Netherlands), Penelope Leprevost (France), Peder Fredricson (Sweden), Christian Ahlmann (Germany), Edwina Tops-Alexander (Australia), Gregory Wathelet (Belguim) and Eric Lamaze (Canada).
Staut pips Delestre
French riders Kevin Staut and Simon Delestre dominated the featured race by winning the first two places.
In the 1.55m class against the clock, Staut astride 12-year-old mare Visconti du Telman to victory (61.73 seconds) while compatriot Delestre on 10-year-old gelding Berlux Z took the silver (63.44 seconds). Germny’s Philipp Weishaupt who rode 11-year-old gelding Coby came third (63.74 seconds).
For Staut, this was is second successive win against Delestre at the Longines Arena at Al Shaqab after last week’s triumph at CHI Al Shaqab.
A golden ticket for the Longines Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix at the GC Prague Playoffs await for the show jumping stars.
Previous LGCT Grand Prix of Doha winners Julien Epaillard (France) and Scott Brash (Great Britain) will hope to do well and catapult their way up the overall leaderboard early on in the season.
The health and safety of everyone at Al Shaqab remains the highest priority and strict COVID-19 precautionary measures are enforced to ensure the safety and well-being of riders and equestrian fans .
